Netflix romantic drama breaks streamer records following early renewal - The Independent

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Virgin River, the popular Netflix romantic drama, has become the streamer’s longest-running original scripted series.

The show, which launched in 2019 and stars Alexandra Breckenridge and Martin Henderson, has been given an early renewal for its ninth season, months before next year’s season eight premiere.

It will once again consist of 10 episodes, bringing the show’s total to 94 episodes.

When it comes to the most episodes for an original Netflix series, Virgin River is tied with the current Netflix record holder, Grace and Frankie. The comedy, starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, ran for seven seasons and has 30-minute episodes — a shorter run time than Virgin River, which has hour-long episodes.

The series, based on the popular romance novels by Robyn Carr, follows Mel (Breckenridge) who moves from Los Angeles to Virgin River to take a job as a nurse practitioner. There, she strikes up a relationship with Jack (Grey’s Anatomy alum Henderson), the local bar owner.

Deadline reported that Virgin River has been sustainable for Netflix because of its strong cast and lower budget, since it is filmed in Canada in a select few locations. Few stunts or special effects are needed, which also keeps costs down.

As Deadline reported in March, two longtime cast members have departed prior to season 8: Marco Grazzini, who played Mike, and Lauren Hammersley, who portrayed Charmaine. Joining the cast is Natasha Calis in the heavily recurring role of Dr. Astrid, with an option to become a series regular in season 9.

Grazzini had been on the series for five seasons and appeared in the last four as a series regular. In the latest season, his local police officer character Mike Valenzuela embarks on a mission with his love interest, Brie (Zibby Allen), to find missing woman Charmaine (Hammersley).

Hammersley — who previously played a love interest to Martin Henderson’s lead character Jack — was an original Virgin River cast member from its launch in 2019 through season four.

Although the two actors are leaving the series, showrunner Patrick Sean Smith told Deadline that fans might still see the characters return in the future.

“For me, I’m just trying to look to the longevity of the show and making sure that the characters that we’re keeping have enough story engine in them to keep going,” Smith told the outlet.

“So I can’t say there are any specific cast shakeups planned, but I think we will have to start to — as characters run their course — make some decisions and bring in some new blood.”

The show has largely kept most cast members from early seasons, with notable exits from regulars including Grayson Gurnsey, leaving after season four, and Mark Ghanimé exiting after season six.